The present invention relates to a decorative sheet used for decorating a molded article. The present invention also relates to a molded article provided with such a decorative sheet, a production method thereof, and a motor vehicle provided with such a molded article.
Recently, as a technique for decorating various kinds of molded articles, a technique for attaching a decorative sheet onto a surface of a molded article has been proposed. The decorative sheet used in this technique is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-249999. The decorative sheet disclosed in this publication includes a base member and an ink layer formed by printing on a surface of the base member. The decorative sheet is attached to a molded article with an adhesive applied to the ink layer. The publication also describes that, instead of the ink layer, a metal layer formed of a metal material such as aluminum or chromium may be disposed on the surface of the base member.
When such a decorative sheet is used, the molded article can be easily recycled as compared with the case of paint application using a coating material. In addition, such a decorative sheet can create a beautiful appearance which is different from the paint application, so that a decorative quality can be improved.
A conventional decorative sheet including a metal layer is, however, suitable for the decoration of a molded article having a flat surface, but is not suitable for the decoration of a molded article having an uneven surface. As a result of examination by the inventors of the present invention, it was discovered that when a decorative sheet including a metal layer was attached to a molded article having an uneven surface (a hole for a screw, or a fixing structure for fixing to other members, for example), or a molded article having a deep drawing shape, the metal layer was broken and the color became locally pale, thereby deteriorating the decorative appearance.